Palm oil imports fall 16pc in 4 months

ISLAMABAD: Palm oil imports into the country witnessed decrease of 16 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The palm oil imports during July-October (2012-13) were recorded at $693.364 million against the imports of $825.306 million during July-October (2011-12), according to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, the palm oil imports decreased by 5.94 percent during the period under review by going down from 703,951 metric tons to 662,130 metric tons, the data revealed.

However, the soyabean oil imports during the first four months of the current fiscal year increased from $30.103 million to $39.494 million, showing positive growth of 31.20 percent.

During the month of October 2012, the palm oil imports decreased by 29.48 percent and 38.47 percent when compared to the imports of October 2011 and September 2012 respectively.

Palm oil imports during October stood at $107.343 million against the imports of $171.703 million in October 2011 and $176.661 million in September 2012, the PBS data revealed.

On the other hand, the soyabean imports during October 2012 were recorded at $2.286 million against the imports of $3.646 million in October 2011 and $7.453 in September 2012.

The overall food imports into the country during current fiscal year witnessed decrease of 7.38 percent against the imports of the same period of last year.

The food imports during 2012-13 stood at $$1.514 billion against the imports of $1.634 billion during 2011-12.

It is pertinent to mention that the country's overall trade deficit decreased by 6.79 per cent, with exports witnessing growth of 4.98 per cent and imports decreasing by 0.54 per cent during the first four months of the current fiscal year, showing a positive development in trade balance.

The overall imports during the period under review were recorded at $14.643 billion against those of $14.723 billion during last year, showing negative growth of 0.54 percent.

Exports from the country increased from $7.814 billion in July-October (2011-12) to $8.203 billion during July-October (2012-13).

Based on the figures, the overall trade deficit during the period was recorded at $6.440 billion against that of $6.909 billion last year, showing a negative growth of 6.79 per cent.